Should Parents Be Allowed To Spank Children
One of the biggest fears parents have is raising their children the wrong way. Children don’t come with an instruction manual explaining how they work and what they want. A big controversy dealing with children is how to correctly discipline is them. Should you spank your children as a form of punishment and is it effective? This topic is extremely relevant because you’re dealing with the future. You never know what the child could be capable of, but if parents discipline them the wrong way you may never know. The first article I found dealing with spanking is called “Spanking isn’t child abuse; its common sense” by Ruben Navarrette. This article takes the side of spanking children as a form of discipline. The next article I found “No matter your view, there are alternatives” by Karen Deerwester. This article explains how spanking is the wrong form of discipline and can have consequential outcomes if done too often.
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This first article defends spanking as a form of discipline.
Ruben Navarrette is letting parents use the article as a guide line for raising children. In the article, the author uses his own personal experiences with spanking. Navarrette explains how his parents were Mexican immigrants and their disciplinary methods kept all five of his brothers out of gangs, and away from the police. He then goes on to say the only way to gain respect is through fear. Children won’t follow commands unless they fear the consequence, the consequence here is spanking. Navarrette says he wants parents to prepare their children for the real world, bad behaviors have consequences, therefore, you should deal with them while they’re young. The main assumption Navarrette makes, is every child needs to be spanked and that parents won’t get the respect they deserve from their children unless the child is in fear of them. The article does not support the controversy. He has his personal experiences with spanking, but not everyone will react the same way to physical
abuse. The second article shows parents that there is another way, you don’t need to spank your children. There are better forms of discipline that can teach children right from wrong. Karen Deerwester wants to let parents know that spanking is an unnecessary form of discipline. She found multiple studies that would support her argument. At Columbia University of Social work, they took a longitudinal study from birth to 9 years of age, to see the negative effects of spanking on child behavior and cognitive development. The conclusion was that the children who were spanked were found breaking rules and acting aggressively. They were also found to have lower scores on vocabulary and language comprehension tests. Deerwester’s key point in her article is that discipline present an opportunity to control one’s own emotions before reacting to the child’s behavior. A parent’s goal should be to teach their children how to be kinder, smarter, and productive individuals. Spanking is a temporary solution but could lead to undesirable behaviors eventually. Instead parents should take the time to teach their children right from wrong. I agree with Karen Deerwester, she makes valid points and has the research to back it up. Spanking isn’t the only way, it’s probably the worst way. Alternative methods could can cause higher grades, less bullying, higher self-esteem, and better relationships between parent and child. Both articles were complete opposites. Ruben Navarrette’s argument had no support, just personal experiences. He believed in spanking and thought that was the only way to go about disciplining a child. Karen Deerwester’s on the other hand, did have supporting research and made perfect sense. She believed that spanking was wrong and can harm the child, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. It can cause the child to be untrusting of their parents and eventually the world around them. In the end causing them to feel alone. Time, personalities, circumstances, emotional vulnerabilities, can all complicate a simple cause-and-effect relationship between spanking and all children in all instances.
This first article defends spanking as a form of discipline.
Ruben Navarrette is letting parents use the article as a guide line for raising children. In the article, the author uses his own personal experiences with spanking. Navarrette explains how his parents were Mexican immigrants and their disciplinary methods kept all five of his brothers out of gangs, and away from the police. He then goes on to say the only way to gain respect is through fear. Children won’t follow commands unless they fear the consequence, the consequence here is spanking. Navarrette says he wants parents to prepare their children for the real world, bad behaviors have consequences, therefore, you should deal with them while they’re young. The main assumption Navarrette makes, is every child needs to be spanked and that parents won’t get the respect they deserve from their children unless the child is in fear of them. The article does not support the controversy. He has his personal experiences with spanking, but not everyone will react the same way to physical
abuse. The second article shows parents that there is another way, you don’t need to spank your children. There are better forms of discipline that can teach children right from wrong. Karen Deerwester wants to let parents know that spanking is an unnecessary form of discipline. She found multiple studies that would support her argument. At Columbia University of Social work, they took a longitudinal study from birth to 9 years of age, to see the negative effects of spanking on child behavior and cognitive development. The conclusion was that the children who were spanked were found breaking rules and acting aggressively. They were also found to have lower scores on vocabulary and language comprehension tests. Deerwester’s key point in her article is that discipline present an opportunity to control one’s own emotions before reacting to the child’s behavior. A parent’s goal should be to teach their children how to be kinder, smarter, and productive individuals. Spanking is a temporary solution but could lead to undesirable behaviors eventually. Instead parents should take the time to teach their children right from wrong. I agree with Karen Deerwester, she makes valid points and has the research to back it up. Spanking isn’t the only way, it’s probably the worst way. Alternative methods could can cause higher grades, less bullying, higher self-esteem, and better relationships between parent and child. Both articles were complete opposites. Ruben Navarrette’s argument had no support, just personal experiences. He believed in spanking and thought that was the only way to go about disciplining a child. Karen Deerwester’s on the other hand, did have supporting research and made perfect sense. She believed that spanking was wrong and can harm the child, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. It can cause the child to be untrusting of their parents and eventually the world around them. In the end causing them to feel alone. Time, personalities, circumstances, emotional vulnerabilities, can all complicate a simple cause-and-effect relationship between spanking and all children in all instances.